Clamp assembly for supporting a wire shelf

ABSTRACT

A clamp assembly for connecting a wire shelf to a support member. The clamp includes upper and lower brackets adapted to be secured to each other and in cooperative clamping relation with the support by means of a screw. The upper bracket includes a recess for receiving a wire rod of the shelf which is wedged and securely retained in the recess by the head of the screw and, in particular, by the conical bearing surface provided by that head.

United States Patent 1191 Fl k Oct. 9, 1973 [54.] CLAMP ASSEMBLY FORSUPPORTING A 3,599,918 8/1971 Patchett 248/215 WIRE SHELF 1,049,3961/1913 Rassmann 248/228 2,631,809 3/1953 Jacobson 248/228 [7 Inventor:avi C- eck, C n na O 1,707,933 4/1929 Gibbons 339/263 R 1,343,930 6/1920Neely 24/125 R X [73] Assgnee' ai'zgz r gg fgg 3,068,445 12/1962Crowther 24/125 R x [22] Filed: Dec. 27, 1971 Primary Examiner-James T.McCall Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner [21] Appl' 212,488Attorney-Dawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus [52] U.S. Cl 108/64, 108/114,2482/22/66; [57] ABSTRACT 51 Int. Cl A47b 57/00 A clamp assemblynnecting a wife a [58 Field of Search 108/64, 111, 114; member- The dam!includes and 21 182, 3. 339/263. 248/214 brackets adapted to be securedto each other and 1n 215 226 228 24/81 125 cooperative clamping relationwith the support by means of a screw. The upper bracket includes arecess [56] References Cited for receiving a wire rod of the shelf whichis wedged and securely retained in the recess by the head of the 2 23 88 iI PATENTS 335/263 R screw and, in particular, by the conical bearingsuren b 3,191,140 6/1965 Coldren 339/263 R face provided y at hea2,819,937 H1958 Bullock 108/64 14 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 CLAMPASSEMBLY FOR SUPPORTING A WIRE SHELF BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Thepresentinven'tion relates to a clamp for connecting the transverse endrod of a wire shelf to a support member; and in the preferredembodiment, the clamp is adapted to secure the end rod of one horizontalshelving unit to a longitudinally extending front rail of a transverselypositioned Shelving unit. Thus, the two shelving units extend at rightangles, for example, in the formation of corner units or corner shelvingassemblies. Other uses will be readily apparent to persons skilled inthe art.

7 Corner braces or connectors have been suggested in the art. One suchcorner connector contemplates connection of the two transverselyextending wire shelving units to a common vertical post. Anotherrequires a preliminary assembly of the corner brace to a shelving unitwhich is then assembled to a second shelving unit already in place.

In the former type of corner shelving arrangement, the common verticalpost becomes an obstacle to access of the shelf toward the corner. Inthe latter arrangement, assembly becomes somewhat difficult because theattaching shelving unit must be positioned and held in place while thecorner brace is assembled to the unit which is already in place.

in the present system, a clamp is provided for connecting an end rod ofa shelving unit to a front rail of a transversely extending siinilarshelving unit. The front rail has a vertical cross section shape in theform of a C with the ope'n portion of the channel facing toward the rearor wire rods forming a shelf. I

The clani'p includes upper and lower brackets which are adapted to besecured to each other and in cooper ative clamping relation with theC-shaped channel by means of a screw having a conically-shaped head.

The upper bracket of the clamp, in cross section, providesoppositely-facing channels. These channels face respectively downwardlyand upwardly, and they are separated by a common wall portion of theupper bracket. The outward end of each channel is defined by an inclinedportion which tapers toward the center of the bracket. Thus, thedownwardly-facing rearchannel of the upper bracket fits snugly over theupper horizontal wall of the C-shaped channel forming the front railof'a first shelving unit which has already been placed in the cornerThis upper bracket, may be moved longitudinally of the front rail of thefirst shelving unit, as desired; and it is an important aspect of thepresent invention that the upper bracket of the clamp when thusassembled to the front rail of the first shelving unit is stable enoughto stippo'rt the weight of a second shelving unit, the end rod of whichis placed in the upwardlyfacing channel of the upper bracket. I

The lower bracket of the clamp, when assembled to the upper bracket bymeans of the screw, cooperates withthe upper bracket to securely clampto the front rail of the first shelving unit. The conical head of thisscrew wedges the end rod of the second shelving unit to the recess ofthe upwardly-facing channel of the upper bracket formed by the inclinedouter wall of this channel. Thus, the end rod of the second shelvingunit is firmly held against any radial motion, yet permitted to rotateabout its axis in adjusting the second shelving unit duringinstallation.

Thus, the present invention provides a corner clamp in which no specialskills or tools are required for assembling two transversely extendingshelving units toge'the'r. Further, the assembly facilitates horizontalalignment of the shelving units and disassembly of the two units if itis desired to modify the arrangement.

The clamp may be adjusted longitudinally of the front rail of the firstshelving unit which permits a much wider range of adjustment than if ithad to fit first between adjacent wire rods of the second unit sincethese are 'much more closely spaced than are the transverse support rodsof a conventional shelving unit.

The wedging action of the screw in holding an end rod of a secondshelving unit in place while permitting both longitudinal adjustment ofthe clamp along the front rail of the first unit as well as rotation ofthe second unit about its end rod is considered an important feature ofthe present invention not only for the reasons already mentioned, butalso because of the economies of manufacture brought about by thepresent invention due to the simplicity of the structure.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description ofa preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing whereinidentical reference numerals will refer to like parts in the variousviews.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of transverselyReferring first to FIG. 1, there are shown portions of three separateshelving units designated respectively '10, i1 and 12. The two shelving'units 10 and 11 are connected end to end, and the shelving unit 12 isconnected in transverse relation with the shelving unit 11. Each of theshelving units 10-12 is similar in construction, so that only theshelving unit 11 need be described in detail to understand theinvention.

The shelving unit 11 includes a plurality of longitudi nally extendingwires or rods 13 The wires 13 extend parallel to each other and arespaced laterally of each other at fixed intervals. The wires 13 arewelded to transversely-extending support rods 14 which may also bespaced at fixed intervals, but the spacing of the transverse supportwires 14 is much greater than the spacing of the longitudinal wires 13.At each end of the shelving unit 11 there is an upper transverse endrod, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1 and designated 15.

The forward ends of the transverse rods 14 are welded to a front rail 16which takes the form of a channel having the shape of a C, as best seenin cross section view in FIG. 3. The channel 16 is arranged so that theopen portion of the C-shape faces the rear (i.e., the longitudinallyextending rods 13). The front rail 16 therefore includes a verticalforward wall portion 17 and upper and lower horizontally extending wallportions 18 and 19.

Turning again to FIG. 1, the shelving unit 12 includes a horizontalupper end rod which is designated 20. The two shelving units 11, 12 aresecured together so as to form a corner by means of clamps, one of whichis shown in FIG. 1 and generally designated 21. The clamp 21 is betterseen in FIGS. 2 and 3; and it includes an upper bracket 24, a lowerbracket 25 and a screw The upper bracket 24 is formed to define adownwardly facing channel 27 and an upwardly facing channel 28. Thechannels 27, 28 are separated by a vertical wall portion 29. The channel27 is further defined by a horizontal upper wall portion 30 and aninwardly inclined end wall 31. The channel 28, on the other hand, isfurther defined by a lower horizontal wall 32 and an outer, inwardlyinclined wall 33. A clearance aperture 36 is provided in the bottom wall32 of the channel 20 so as to receive the threaded screw 26.

The lower bracket 25 of the clamp 21 includes first and secondhorizontal flanges 37 and 38 separated by a vertical wall 39. The lowerhorizontal flange 37, as best seen in FIG. 3, is adapted to engage thelower surface of the lower wall 19 of the front rail 16 of the shelvingunit 11 when the lower bracket 25 is assembled to. the upper bracket 24of the clamp. The upper flange 38 is provided with internally threadedaperture 40 for threadedly receiving the screw 26. The screw 26, asmentioned, is threaded, and it includes a head 42 which defines an outertapered wall 43 such as is commonly found in a flathead screw.

ASSEMBLY In the illustration of FIG. 1, shelving would be provided in acorner by first installing the shelving units and 11, the unseen uppercorner of the shelving unit 11 fitting flush into the corner of a room.Next, the shelving unit 12 (sometimes referred to as the second shelvingunit) is attached to the front rail 16 of the shelving unit 11(sometimes referred to as the first shelving unit). Normally, only twoof the clamps 21 are required to secure these two shelving unitstogether; however, more clamps may be used if desired.

In making this connection, the upper bracket 21 of each of the clampsdesired to be used is first placed onto the front rail 16 of theshelving unit 11 in a rotating motion. That is, the recess defined bythe upper wall 30 and the inclined end wall 31 is first placed onto thedistal end of the upper wall 18 of the C-shapedchannel 16, and the upperbracket 24 is then rotated downwardly until the center wall 29 of theupper bracket 24 engages the vertical wall 17 of the C-shaped channel16, as seen in FIG. 3. The downwardly-facing channel 27 of the upperbracket 24 is so dimensioned as to snugly fit onto the upper portion ofthe front rail 16 and to be held there while the end rod 20 of thesecond shelving unit 12 is placed in the upwardly-facing channel 28 ofthe upper bracket 24. This is considered to be an important feature ofthe present invention because in being able to hold the second shelvingunit 12 in a stable position without complete assembly of the clamp, thetime required to connect the two shelving units is minimized. That is,with the end rod 20 of the second shelving unit 12 thus held, the persondoing the assembly may then hold the lower bracket 25 of the clampingunit in the position shown in FIG. 3 with one hand and align thethreaded aperture 40 with the clearance aperture 36 of the upper bracketand then, with the other hand, begin to thread the screw 26 into thelower bracket. In order to make the connection tight, of course, ascrewdriver is used to tighten the screw 26; and this action causes theouter conical surface 43 of the screw 26 to wedge the end rod 20 of thesecond shelving unit 12 into the recess defined by the lower wall 32 andthe inclined outer wall 33 of the upper bracket. It will be observedthat these two walls are inclined at an acute angle so that the end rod26 is completely trapped in this recess when the screw 26 is assembledto the bracket 25, thereby restraining the end rod 20 against lateral orvertical motion while permitting it to rotate about its axis, asindicated somewhat exaggeratedly in FIG. 3 in chain line. Thisfacilitates aligning of the second shelving unit 12; and for otherapplications, of course, it permits the two shelving units to befastened at inclined angles. That is, it permits one of the shelvingunits to assume a disposition other than the horizontal.

When this screw 26 is thus tightened, it not only wedges the end rod 20into the recess described above, but it will be seen that the sameaction rigidly clamps the upper and lower brackets 24, 25 to theC-shaped front rail 16 of the first shelving unit 11.

Thus, the assembly or erection of two shelving units in a cornerrelation requires no special skills or tools, and this assembly isgreatly facilitated by the construction of the corner clamp that hasbeen described.

Persons skilled in the art will be able to modify certain of thestructure while has been illustrated and to substitute equivalentelements for those which have been disclosed while continuing topractice the principle of the invention; and it is, therefore, intendedthat all such modifications and substitutions be covered as they areembraced within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clamp connector for connecting a wire shelf with an end rod to asupport means comprising: an upper bracket member and a lower bracketmember adapted to be secured together and in cooperative clampingrelation with said support means; said upper bracket member defining anupwardly-facing recess to receive and engage said end rod of said wireshelf; and a screw threadedly connecting said lower bracket member tosaid upper bracket member for drawing said bracket members towards eachother into tight clamping engagement with said support means, said screwhaving an enlarged head disposed within said recess of said upperbracket member to wedge said end rod of said shelf into said recess whensaid upper and lower bracket members are in assembled relation and urgedtogether by means of said screw into clamping engagement with saidsupport means.

2. The connector of claim 1 wherein said upper bracket member includes ahorizontal lower wall providing the base for said upwardly facingchannel thereof and an inwardly inclined wall extending upwardly fromthe distal end of said horizontal wall and inclined at an acute anglerelative to said horizontal wall to provide said recess.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein lower bracket member is provided with ahorizontal wall portion for placement beneath the horizontal wallportion of said upper bracket member, said horizontal wall portion ofsaid upper bracket member defining a clearance aperture for said screwand said horizontal wall portion of said lower bracket member defining athreaded aperture for receiving said screw, said clearance aperture andsaid threaded aperture being in register when said bracket members arein assembled relation with said shelf end rod.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said support means comprises anelongated C-shaped rail, the open end of said rail facing centrally of ashelf unit; said upper bracket member further comprising adownwardly-facing channel adapted to fit over said C- shaped rail insnug engagement with the upper wall member thereof; whereby said upperbracket member may be placed on said rail and support the first shelvingunit by itself, thereby freeing an operator to assemble said lowerbracket member and said screw to said upper bracket when in place.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which said screw is provided with anenlarged head having a downwardly and outwardly facing conical bearingsurface engagable with said rod for wedging said rod within saidupwardly-facing recess.

6. The structure of claim 2 in which said screw has an enlarged headengagable with said rod for retaining the same within said recess.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said head provides a downwardly andoutwardly facing conical bearing surface engagable with said rod forwedging the same against said inwardly inclined wall of said upperbracket member.

8. A clamp connector for connecting a wire shelf with an end rod to asupport means comprising: an upper bracket member and a lower bracketmember adapted to be secured together and in cooperative clampingrelation with said support means; said upper bracket member defining anupwardly-facing recess to receive and engage said end rod of said wireshelf; and a screw adapted to secure said upper and lower bracketstogether, said screw being disposed to partially define said recess ofsaid upper bracket member to wedge said end rod of said shelf into saidrecess when said upper and lower bracket members are in assembledrelation and secured together by means of said screw; said support meanscomprising an elongated C-shaped rail, the open end of said rail facingcentrally of a shelf unit; said upper bracket member further comprisinga downwardly-facing channel adapted to fit over said C- shaped rail insnug engagement with the upper wall member thereof; whereby said upperbracket member may be placed on said rail and support the first shelvingunit by itself, thereby freeing an operator to assemblesaid lowerbracket member and said screw to said upper bracket member when inplace; said upper bracket member including first and second horizontalwall members joined by a vertically-extending wall member and furtherincluding inwardly inclined end wall members, thereby to define saiddownwardlyfacing channel for attachment to said upper wall member ofsaid C-shaped rail, the horizontal wall of said upwardly extendingrecess partially defining said recess for receiving the end rod of saidshelf and further defining a clearance aperture for said screw.

9. A system for connecting a first wire shelving unit with a secondtransversely extending wire shelving unit to form a corner assemblycomprising: a longitudinally extending front channel on said firstshelving unit opening inwardly thereof; a transversely extending end rodon said second shelving unit; an upper bracket having a downwardlyfacing channel and an uwardly facing channel separated by a verticallyextending wall member, said downwardly facing channel being adapted tosnugly attach to said rail of said first shelving unit in a stableposition sufficient to hold the wieght of said second shelving unit whensaid end rod thereof is placed in said upwardly-facing channel of saidupper bracket, said upwardly-facing channel further including ahorizontal wall providing a clearance aperture; a lower bracket havingan upper horizontal wall adapted to engage the lower surface of thehorizontal wall of said upwardly-facing channel of said upper bracketand a lower horizontal wall adpated to engage the lower side of saidfront rail of said first shelving unit when assembled thereto, saidupper horizontal wall of said lower bracket providing a threadedaperture for registering with the clearance aperture of said upperbracket; and a screw adapted to fit through said clearance aperture ofsaid upper bracket and be threadedly received in the aperture of saidlower bracket to secure said brackets together in cooperative clampingrelation with said front rail, said screw having an enlarged headengaging the end rod of said second shelving unit when the same isplaced in said upwardly-facing channel to limit radial movement of saidend rod.

10. The structure of claim 9 in which said head is provided with adownwardly and outwardly facing surface engaging said end rod andwedging the same tightly within the upwardly facing channel of saidupper bracket.

11. The structure of claim 10 in which said upper bracket includes aninwardly and upwardly inclined wall engaging said rod on a side oppositefrom said screw, whereby, said rod is clamped between said inclined walland said conical surface.

12. In combination with a wire shelf having an end rod, and supportmeans for said shelf, an upper bracket member and a lower bracket memberclampingly engaging said support means, said upper bracket memberdefining an upwardly-facing recess receiving and engaging said end rodof said shelf, and a screw passing through an aperture in said upperbracket member and threadedly received in an aperture in said lowerbracket member, said screw having an enlarged head disposed within saidrecess of said upper bracket member and tightly engaging said rod towedge said rod within said recess and simultaneously to urge said upperand lower bracket members into tight clamping engagement with saidsupport means.

13. The structure of claim 12 in which said upper bracket memberincludes a horizontal lower wall providing the base for saidupwardly-facing recess and an inwardly-inclined wall extending upwardlyfrom the distal end of said horizontal wall and inclined at an acuteangle relative to said horizontal wall.

14. The connector of claim 12 in which said support means comprises arail having horizontal and vertical wall members, said upper bracketmember defining a downwardly-facing channel receiving the horizontalwall member of said rail, whereby, said upper bracket member may beplaced on said rail for supporting said end rod and shelf prior to thethreaded attachment of said lower bracket member and prior to thetightening of said screw for the simultaneous clamping of said bracketmembers against said rail and the anchoring of said rod within saidrecess.

1. A clamp connector for connecting a wire shelf with an end rod to asupport means comprising: an upper bracket member and a lower bracketmember adapted to be secured together and in cooperative clampingrelation with said support means; said upper bracket member defining anupwardly-facing recess to receive and engage said end rod of said wireshelf; and a screw threadedly connecting said lower bracket member tosaid upper bracket member for drawing said bracket members towards eachother into tight clamping engagement with said support means, said screwhaving an enlarged head disposed within said recess of said upperbracket member to wedge said end rod of said shelf into said recess whensaid upper and lower bracket members are in assembled relation and urgedtogether by means of said screw into clamping engagement with saidsupport means.
 2. The connector of claim 1 wherein said upper bracketmember includes a horizontal lower wall providing the base for saidupwardly facing channel thereof and an inwardly inclined wall extendingupwardly from the distal end of said horizontal wall and inclined at anacute angle relative to said horizontal wall to provide said recess. 3.The system of claim 2 wherein lower bracket member is provided with ahorizontal wall portion for placement beneath the horizontal wallportion of said upper bracket member, said horizontal wall portion ofsaid upper bracket member defining a clearance aperture for said screwand said horizontal wall portion of said lower bracket member defining athreaded aperture for receiving said screw, said clearance aperture andsaid threaded aperture being in register when said bracket members arein assembled relation with said shelf end rod.
 4. The structure of claim1 wherein said support means comprises an elongated C-shaped rail, theopen end of said rail facing centrally of a shelf unit; said upperbracket member further comprising a downwardly-facing channel adapted tofit over said C-shaped rail in snug engagement with the upper wallmember thereof; whereby said upper bracket member may be placed on saidrail and support the first shelving unit by itself, thereby freeing anoperator to assemble said lower bracket member and said screw to saidupper bracket when in place.
 5. The structure of claim 1 in which saidscrew is provided with an enlarged head having a downwardly andoutwardly facing conical bearing surface engagable with said rod forwedging said rod within said upwardly-facing recess.
 6. The structure ofclaim 2 in which said screw has an enlarged head engagable with said rodfor retaining the same within said recess.
 7. The structure of claim 6in which said head provides a downwardly and outwardly faCing conicalbearing surface engagable with said rod for wedging the same againstsaid inwardly inclined wall of said upper bracket member.
 8. A clampconnector for connecting a wire shelf with an end rod to a support meanscomprising: an upper bracket member and a lower bracket member adaptedto be secured together and in cooperative clamping relation with saidsupport means; said upper bracket member defining an upwardly-facingrecess to receive and engage said end rod of said wire shelf; and ascrew adapted to secure said upper and lower brackets together, saidscrew being disposed to partially define said recess of said upperbracket member to wedge said end rod of said shelf into said recess whensaid upper and lower bracket members are in assembled relation andsecured together by means of said screw; said support means comprisingan elongated C-shaped rail, the open end of said rail facing centrallyof a shelf unit; said upper bracket member further comprising adownwardly-facing channel adapted to fit over said C-shaped rail in snugengagement with the upper wall member thereof; whereby said upperbracket member may be placed on said rail and support the first shelvingunit by itself, thereby freeing an operator to assemble said lowerbracket member and said screw to said upper bracket member when inplace; said upper bracket member including first and second horizontalwall members joined by a vertically-extending wall member and furtherincluding inwardly inclined end wall members, thereby to define saiddownwardly-facing channel for attachment to said upper wall member ofsaid C-shaped rail, the horizontal wall of said upwardly extendingrecess partially defining said recess for receiving the end rod of saidshelf and further defining a clearance aperture for said screw.
 9. Asystem for connecting a first wire shelving unit with a secondtransversely extending wire shelving unit to form a corner assemblycomprising: a longitudinally extending front channel on said firstshelving unit opening inwardly thereof; a transversely extending end rodon said second shelving unit; an upper bracket having a downwardlyfacing channel and an upwardly facing channel separated by a verticallyextending wall member, said downwardly facing channel being adapted tosnugly attach to said rail of said first shelving unit in a stableposition sufficient to hold the weight of said second shelving unit whensaid end rod thereof is placed in said upwardly-facing channel of saidupper bracket, said upwardly-facing channel further including ahorizontal wall providing a clearance aperture; a lower bracket havingan upper horizontal wall adapted to engage the lower surface of thehorizontal wall of said upwardly-facing channel of said upper bracketand a lower horizontal wall adpated to engage the lower side of saidfront rail of said first shelving unit when assembled thereto, saidupper horizontal wall of said lower bracket providing a threadedaperture for registering with the clearance aperture of said upperbracket; and a screw adapted to fit through said clearance aperture ofsaid upper bracket and be threadedly received in the aperture of saidlower bracket to secure said brackets together in cooperative clampingrelation with said front rail, said screw having an enlarged headengaging the end rod of said second shelving unit when the same isplaced in said upwardly-facing channel to limit radial movement of saidend rod.
 10. The structure of claim 9 in which said head is providedwith a downwardly and outwardly facing surface engaging said end rod andwedging the same tightly within the upwardly facing channel of saidupper bracket.
 11. The structure of claim 10 in which said upper bracketincludes an inwardly and upwardly inclined wall engaging said rod on aside opposite from said screw, whereby, said rod is clamped between saidinclined wall and said conical surface.
 12. In combination with a wireshelf having an end rod, and support means for said shelf, an upperbracket member and a lower bracket member clampingly engaging saidsupport means, said upper bracket member defining an upwardly-facingrecess receiving and engaging said end rod of said shelf, and a screwpassing through an aperture in said upper bracket member and threadedlyreceived in an aperture in said lower bracket member, said screw havingan enlarged head disposed within said recess of said upper bracketmember and tightly engaging said rod to wedge said rod within saidrecess and simultaneously to urge said upper and lower bracket membersinto tight clamping engagement with said support means.
 13. Thestructure of claim 12 in which said upper bracket member includes ahorizontal lower wall providing the base for said upwardly-facing recessand an inwardly-inclined wall extending upwardly from the distal end ofsaid horizontal wall and inclined at an acute angle relative to saidhorizontal wall.
 14. The connector of claim 12 in which said supportmeans comprises a rail having horizontal and vertical wall members, saidupper bracket member defining a downwardly-facing channel receiving thehorizontal wall member of said rail, whereby, said upper bracket membermay be placed on said rail for supporting said end rod and shelf priorto the threaded attachment of said lower bracket member and prior to thetightening of said screw for the simultaneous clamping of said bracketmembers against said rail and the anchoring of said rod within saidrecess.